The COVID-19 outbreak emerged as an ongoing crisis at the beginning of the year 2020. Its horrific manifestation at the community level significantly affects various dimensions of the quality of life (QoL) of all individuals. The study aimed to examine some of the predictors of the QoL during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey questionnaire was used to gather data on the participants’ sociodemographic backgrounds, physical health status, psychological reactions, and QoL. We adapted 12 items from the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instruments (WHOQOL-BREF) to assess the QoL. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale–21 (DASS-21) was used to assess depression, anxiety, and stress. The median and inter-quartile range were used to describe the QoL scores. A multinomial regression analysis was computed between QoL score quartiles and associated factors, and the statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The results of the multinomial regression analysis demonstrated that males (OR = 1.96; 95% CI = 1.31–2.94); participants aged 26 to 35 years (OR = 5.1; 95% CI = 1.33–19.37); non-Saudi participants (OR = 1.69; 95% CI = 1.06–2.57); individuals with chronic diseases (OR = 2.15; 95% CI = 1.33–3.48); those who lost their job (OR = 2.18; 95% CI = 1.04–4.57); and those with depression (OR = 5.70; 95% CI = 3.59–9.05), anxiety (OR = 5.47; 95% CI = 3.38–8.84), and stress (OR = 6.55; 95% CI = 4.01–10.70) were more likely to be in the first quartile of the QoL scores. While the full model predicting the total QoL score was statistically significant (R2 = 0.962, F (750, 753) = 16,705.4, p < 0.001), the three QoL dimensions explained 0.643, 0.283, and 0.036 of the variability in environmental, social, and religious/spiritual dimensions, respectively. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced various aspects of individuals’ QoL, as well as their physical and psychological health. Community-based interventions are needed to mitigate the pandemic’s negative effects and enhance the health and QoL of the general population.

This research study examines academic self-perceptions and course satisfaction among university students and associated factors during virtual classes. A cross-sectional online survey of (n = 328) undergraduate and postgraduate Saudi students who took virtual classes during the second semester of the academic year 2019–2020 and the first semester of the academic year 2020–2021 during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The findings demonstrated students’ scores on negative academic self-perceptions (mean (M) = 9.84; standard deviation (S.D.) = 3.09) are significantly higher in comparison to positive academic self-perceptions (M = 7.71; S.D. = 2.46) and the difference was statistically significant, t(327) = 3.69, p < 0.001. The analysis demonstrated that mean differences were significant across ‘year of study’, ‘field of study’, ‘CGPA’ (cumulative grade points average), ‘employment status’, ‘on-site work’ and ‘being a parent of young child’ (p < 0.01). Correlation analysis shows a linear positive association between perceptions of workload and low technical support with negative academic self-perceptions (p < 0.001) and an inverse relationship with positive academic self-perceptions (p < 0.001). The multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the predictor variables in the model (perceptions of workload and technical support) explain 62% variance in negative academic self-perceptions and 41% variance in positive academic self-perceptions. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated that positive academic self-perceptions bring a 32% variance in course satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of balancing workload during online studies in higher education and provision of adequate technical support to reduce the negative academic self-perceptions which are associated with lower levels of course satisfaction. Students’ academic self-perceptions and course satisfaction during virtual studies are important factors to retain students’ motivation in learning and academic performance.

Considering the current dramatic and fatal situation due to the high spreading of SARS-CoV-2 infection, there is an urgent unmet medical need to identify novel and effective approaches for prevention and treatment of Coronavirus disease (COVID 19) by re-evaluating and repurposing of known drugs. For this, tomatidine and patchouli alcohol have been selected as potential drugs for combating the virus. The hit compounds were subsequently docked into the active site and molecular docking analyses revealed that both drugs can bind the active site of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro, PLpro, NSP15, COX-2 and PLA2 targets with a number of important binding interactions. To further validate the interactions of promising compound tomatidine, Molecular dynamics study of 100 ns was carried out towards 3CLpro, NSP15 and COX-2. This indicated that the protein-ligand complex was stable throughout the simulation period, and minimal backbone fluctuations have ensued in the system. Post dynamic MM-GBSA analysis of molecular dynamics data showed promising mean binding free energy 47.4633 ± 9.28, 51.8064 ± 8.91 and 54.8918 ± 7.55 kcal/mol, respectively. Likewise, in silico ADMET studies of the selected ligands showed excellent pharmacokinetic properties with good absorption, bioavailability and devoid of toxicity. Therefore, patchouli alcohol and especially, tomatidine may provide prospect treatment options against SARS-CoV-2 infection by potentially inhibiting virus duplication though more research is guaranteed and secured.

COVID-19 pandemic is spreading around the world becoming thus a serious concern for health, economic and social systems worldwide. In such situation, predicting as accurately as possible the future dynamics of the virus is a challenging problem for scientists and decision-makers. In this paper, four phenomenological epidemic models as well as Suspected-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model are investigated for predicting the cumulative number of infected cases in Saudi Arabia in addition to the probable end-date of the outbreak. The prediction problem is formulated as an optimization framework and solved using a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The Generalized Richards Model (GRM) has been found to be the best one in achieving two objectives: first, fitting the collected data (covering 223 days between March 2 nd and October 10, 2020) with the lowest mean absolute percentage error (MAPE = 3.2889%), the highest coefficient of determination (R 2 = 0.9953) and the lowest root mean squared error (RMSE = 8827); and second, predicting a probable end date found to be around the end of December 2020 with a projected number of 378,299 at the end of the outbreak. The obtained results may help the decision-makers to take suitable decisions related to the pandemic mitigation and containment and provide clear understanding of the virus dynamics in Saudi Arabia.

BackgroundAlthough patient engagement is internationally recognized as a core quality indicator of healthcare systems, no report has yet explored patient engagement in Saudi Arabia. Thus, we explored patients’ experiences of engagement with healthcare services and assessed physicians’ and nurses’ perceptions of this engagement.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study on patients and their family members admitted to either the rehabilitation or neurology department of King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We also studied physicians and nurses involved in direct patient care in these departments. Two self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on patients’ experiences of engagement with healthcare services and physicians’ and nurses’ perceptions of that engagement.ResultsWe recruited 36 patients and 46 family members, as well as 64 nurses and 36 physicians. About 73% of patients and family members felt that doctors and nurses engaged them in decision making regarding care plans; 80% felt that they were a partners in the treatment plans. Over one-third of physicians and nurses believed that patient engagement improved healthcare outcomes, and about 7% believed that patient engagement was unimportant or not extremely important. Responses of physicians and nurses differed significantly from those of patients and family members with regards to the extent of the patient–physician/nurse relationship, the perception of involvement, and the degree of partnership and shared leadership.ConclusionWe assessed patient experiences of engagement with health care service and physicians’ and nurses’ perceptions of that engagement. Most patients/family members reported good engagement. Although most physicians and nurses believed that patient engagement improved the healthcare outcomes, some believed that improving healthcare outcomes through patient engagement was not important or not extremely important.